Chicago Red Stars

Team information

Inaugural season: 2009

Home stadium: SeatGeek Stadium

Owner: Laura Ricketts

Team colors: Blue, white, red

Overview

The Chicago Red Stars are a professional women’s soccer team and founding member of the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL), which began play in 2013. Prior to the establishment of the NWSL, the Red Stars played in the league’s predecessor, Women’s Professional Soccer (WPS). The Red Stars also participated in the 2011 Women’s Premier Soccer League (WPSL) and the WPSL’s Elite League in 2012. Despite membership in multiple leagues over the course of its history, the Red Stars organization considers the team’s history to be continuous, extending from its pre-WPS founding in 2007 to the present day.

On its official website, the Chicago Red Stars claim the title of “the oldest and winningest pro women’s soccer team in the [United States].” The team has enjoyed strong success during regular-season play in the multiple leagues in which it has participated. However, the Red Stars never finished atop the WPS regular-season standings, nor did the team claim a playoff crown during the three years of the league’s operations. Since being part of the NWSL from 2013–2021 season, the Red Stars also have not won the NWSL Shield as regular-season champions or a playoff tournament despite making multiple appearances in the league’s championship games.

In 2021, longtime Red Stars head coach Rory Dames abruptly resigned after the NWSL playoffs. Following his departure, multiple reports surfaced accusing Dames of engaging in a pervasive, long-term pattern of abusive behavior. The accusations received national coverage in major media publications.

The Red Stars held the NWSL record for the longest playoff streak, 2015 to 2022.

History

The Red Stars were officially established in 2007 following agreements made in 2006 with owner-operators in six US cities. These agreements formed the framework of a new women’s professional soccer league, which would fill the void left by the 2003 dissolution of the Women’s United Soccer Association (WUSA). The new league, which became known as WPS, was originally scheduled for a 2008 launch, but its debut was delayed until 2009 to avoid scheduling conflicts with the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China.

In 2008, the Chicago WPS franchise officially unveiled its Red Stars nickname, which followed an extended promotional campaign that included a naming contest. The name “Red Stars” is a reference to Chicago’s municipal flag, which features four red six-point stars on a white field bordered at the top and bottom by horizontal blue stripes. The flag’s blue, white, and red color scheme has also been incorporated into the team's uniforms.

The Red Stars played in WPS for two seasons (2009, 2010). In 2011, the club purchased the ownership rights to the Red Stars name, logo, and franchise assets, and transferred the club and its players under contract to the WPSL. Established in 1998, the WPSL is a second-tier women’s soccer league that represented the primary competitor of the WPS at the time. The Red Stars appeared in the 2011 WPSL championship game, which they lost to the California Waves.

In 2012, the Red Stars formed the WPSL Elite League with seven other teams, creating an elevated level of competition. During the club’s eventful 2012 season, the Red Stars defeated New York Athletic Club by a 3–2 score to claim the National Women’s Cup. The competition, now known as the United States Adult Soccer Association (USASA) National Women’s Open, is an annual soccer tournament open to applicant clubs from both the amateur and professional ranks. The Red Stars also reached the championship game of the 2012 WPSL Elite League season, losing in a penalty shootout to the Western New York Flash.

WPS had folded earlier in 2012, leaving the future of US women’s professional soccer uncertain. The Red Stars joined other major pro women’s clubs to form a new league, which began play in 2013 as the NWSL. On June 1, 2013, the Red Stars played the first NWSL game in their history, defeating the Portland Thorns by a 2–0 score. They finished the season in sixth place in the eight-team league, improving to fifth in 2014 after the NWSL expanded to nine teams.

In 2015, the Red Stars established themselves as a championship contender early on and led the NWSL’s standings table for much of the season. However, a late-season slide relegated them to a second-place finish, and the team exited the 2015 NWSL playoffs in the semifinal round after losing to Kansas City. The club’s 2016 campaign ended in similar fashion, with the Red Stars bowing out in the playoff semifinals after finishing in third place during the regular season. Two further semifinal exits followed in 2017 and 2018.

The Red Stars posted a banner year in 2019, hosting a sellout crowd of more than 17,000 people at their home field, SeatGeek Stadium. That October, the Red Stars finally managed to advance to the NWSL championship game after defeating the Portland Thorns 1–0 in their semifinal clash. However, the Red Stars came up short in the title game against the North Carolina Courage, losing 4–0. After an extended delay to the 2020 NWSL season caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Red Stars made their second consecutive appearance in the NWSL championship final in that year’s Challenge Cup, which replaced the league’s usual regular season and playoff format. They came up short against the Houston Dash in the Challenge Cup final, losing 2–0.

In 2021, the Red Stars battled for a fourth-place finish in the 10-team NWSL, drawing into the playoffs with a first-round matchup against NJ/NY Gotham FC. The Red Stars won the single-elimination playoff round 1–0, then defeated Portland 2–0 in the semifinals to secure their third straight appearance in the league’s championship game. Chicago lost in the finals for the third consecutive year, dropping a 2–1 decision in extra time to the Washington Spirit.

After losing to the Spirit, longtime Red Stars coach Rory Dames abruptly quit. Dames, who assumed the team’s head coaching duties in 2011, was subsequently accused of engaging in a long-term pattern of emotionally and psychologically abusive behavior toward Red Stars players, which complainants said routinely violated the normal boundaries of a player-coach relationship. Press coverage of the incident noted that Red Stars players had voiced complaints about Dames as early as 2014, but neither the NWSL nor the sport’s national governing body, US Soccer, took action against him. According to a 2021 Washington Postarticle, Dames was the fifth male coach in NWSL to have a complaint filed against him during the year, indicating a toxic underlying culture that US Soccer pledged to investigate independently.

In 2022, the Red Stars finished sixth, sending them to the playoff for the seventh consecutive year. However, they lost to Angel City FC.

Notable players

Through the end of the 2021 NWSL season, Samantha Kerr and Christen Press were tied for the club’s all-time lead with 35 goals. They were followed by Sofia Huerta (22 goals), Alyssa Mautz (13 goals), and Jen Hoy (12 goals). All statistics cover the Red Stars’ entire operational history across the multiple leagues in which the club has competed.

Kerr is an Australia-born forward who joined the Red Stars via a three-team trade in 2018. After a slow start to her Red Stars career, Kerr blossomed during the later stages of the 2018 NSWL season to win the league’s Golden Boot award as its top scorer. She repeated the feat for the Red Stars in 2019, leading the league with 18 goals. Kerr left the NWSL in November 2019 to join the Football Association Women’s Super League (FA-WSL), the highest level of women’s professional soccer competition in England.

Press, an American forward, was a Red Stars mainstay for four seasons spanning 2014–2017. A prolific scorer, Press became known for her timely contributions at critical junctures of Red Stars games and seasons. She served as the Red Stars captain for her final two campaigns with the club, beginning in 2016. Press left the Red Stars in a 2018 trade. At the time of her departure, she held the club’s all-time goal-scoring record.

The Idaho-born Huerta joined the Red Stars after a successful collegiate career at Santa Clara University. She made her Red Stars debut in 2015 and was a finalist for that year’s NWSL Rookie of the Year award. Having played more than 74 games with the Red Stars, the midfielder scored 22 goals before a 2018 trade made her a member of the Houston Dash.

Mautz, a forward and midfielder, has played for the Red Stars as well as various women’s professional teams in Russia and Australia through loan agreements between the Red Stars and the destination clubs. Hoy, also a forward and midfielder, appeared in 78 Red Stars games between 2013–2017 before joining Sky Blue FC (now NJ/NY Gotham FC).

Bibliography

“About Us.” Chicago Red Stars, 2023, www.chicagoredstars.com/about-us#:~:text=The%20Red%20Stars%20play%20at,playing%20surface%20in%20the%20league. Accessed 20 Mar. 2024.

“Chicago Red Stars.” LinkedIn, 2024, www.linkedin.com/company/chicago-red-stars. Accessed 20 Mar. 2024.

Hensley-Clancy, Molly. “’Nobody Cares:’ NWSL Players Say U.S. Soccer Failed to Act on Abuse Claims Against Red Stars Coach.” Washington Post, 22 Nov. 2021, www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2021/11/22/rory-dames-chicago-red-stars-resigns/. Accessed 20 Mar. 2024.

Lauletta, Dan. “Eight Teams to Start New Women’s Pro Soccer League in 2013.” The Equalizer, 21 Nov. 2012, equalizersoccer.com/2012/11/21/eight-teams-to-start-new-womens-pro-soccer-league-in-2013/. Accessed 20 Mar. 2024.

“Rory Dames Accused of Verbal, Emotional Abuse After Resignation as Red Stars Coach.” ESPN, 22 Nov. 2021, www.espn.com/soccer/chicago-red-stars/story/4527517/rory-dames-resigns-as-coach-of-the-nwsl-chicago-red-stars. Accessed 20 Mar. 2024.